Tankless Water Heater

Does your current water run out of hot water? Do you ever have a problem with running out of hot water? Is it impossible for two people take two showers in a row and still have enough hot water for both of them? Is your current hot water heater old and inefficient? Are you looking for ways to save money around the house? Are you concerned with helping the environment?


If you answered yes to any of these questions above, you're a perfect candidate for installing a tankless water heater. Not only can they eliminate hot water delivery problems, they can do so efficiently, and in turn save you a lot of money over your current hot water system. And one of the best fringe benefits of this is that next to solar or wind power, it's one of the most environmentally friendly ways to heat water. Plus, if you act now, you may be eligible for substantial savings from tax rebates.

Lets look at a recent piece of legislation that will make your decision to install a tankless water heater that much easier

With the recent passage of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, aka the omnibus stimulus bill, buying and installing a tankless water heater had gotten even more affordable. Lets look at the changes. From the government's energystar website:

Tax Credits for Consumers:
Home Improvements

Tax credits are now available for home improvements:

* must be "placed in service" from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010
* must be for taxpayer's principal residence
* $1,500 is the maximum total amount that can be claimed for all products placed in service in 2009 & 2010 for most home improvements, EXCEPT for geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters, solar panels, fuel cells, and windmills which are not subject to this cap, and are in effect through 2016
* must have a Manufacturer Certification Statement to qualify
* for record keeping, save your receipts and the Manufacturer Certification Statement3
* improvements made in 2009 will be claimed on your 2009 taxes (filed by April 15, 2010) - use IRS Tax Form 5695 (2009 version) - it will be available late 2009 or early 2010
* If you are building a new home, you can qualify for the tax credit for geothermal heat pumps, photovoltaics, solar water heaters, small wind systems and fuel cells, but not the tax credits for windows, doors, insulation, roofs, HVAC, or non-solar water heaters...

If you look further down the page on the energy star website, you'll see a section on water heaters. The stimulus bill has a few requirements in order to qualify for the tax rebate. These are as follows.

First and foremost, ALL ENERGY STAR rated gas tankless water heaters WILL qualify for the tax rebate. Electrically powered tankless water heaters do not appear to be eligible for this tax rebate.

The exact requirements are that the tankless water heater have an energy factor that's equal to or greater than .82, or a thermal efficiency that's at least 90%. If your tankless water heater meets this requirement, then you are eligible for 30% of the cost of the heater, up to a total of 1500 dollars.

That's a pretty good incentive to install one of these incredibly efficient water heaters!

One of the reasons that these water heaters are so efficient is due to the fact that they're on demand water heaters. They only produce hot water when you need it. Unlike a conventional hot water heater with a tank, a tankless hot water heater doesn't store heated water. And because of this, it doesn't suffer from the losses that you'd normally see with a traditional tank heater.

With a typical tank water heater, you can lose anywhere from 1/2 degree to 2 degrees of water temperature per hour. Even if you're not using hot water, your tank heater will keep producing hot water to make up for this lost heat and maintain a set temperature. This is where most of the inefficiency associated with a tank water heater comes from, and translates into a large amount of wasted energy over the course of it's lifetime. That's why tankless water heaters are so efficient in comparison. They don't do that.

Now before you rush out and buy the first one that you see, there are a few questions that you'll need to consider.

What type of Tankless Hot water heater do you need?
Natural Gas, Propane, or Electric?

Do you Need a Whole House or Point of Use water heater?
Point of use is smaller and works at the point of use. Whole house is larger and more expensive but will supply your whole house

If you choose and electric tankless water heater, do you have the required electrical service available?
If not, you may need to upgrade your service. If you do, you'll probably need to install a new dedicated circuit. Don't forget to add these costs into your overall cost estimate.

If you choose a propane or natural gas type tankless water heater, you'll need to install a vent pipe that will remove the combustion gasses from your home.
Depending on where you locate your heater, this could be a moderately expensive cost. Don't overlook this.

Even though these extra costs add to the total, it's still a very efficient and cost effective way to heat your water. Payback is quick, and you'll never run out of hot water again!